Washington -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Congress set off for a two-week recess Friday , flying out of Washington under a dark cloud : the `` Do-nothing '' label . But that term is too easy . If you take a closer look , it turns out the better fit may be the `` wasted-time '' Congress .

The terms `` do-nothing '' and `` Congress '' may be so cemented together that the phrase no longer tells us much . At the moment , it may sound redundant .

In 2013 , Congress spent more time at the office but got less done with it than at any time in recent history .

How much got done ?

Let 's start there . There are many measures of congressional activity , but one has sparked the `` do-nothing '' label : Bills passed .

• Bills passed 2013 : 64

• Where does that place ? : That is the lowest amount in modern history .

• What about recent years ? : 148 -LRB- ' 12 -RRB- , 90 -LRB- ' 11 -RRB- , 258 -LRB- ' 10 -RRB- and 125 -LRB- ' 09 -RRB- . The lowest figure during President George W. Bush 's term was 136 , double the amount passed this year .

Lawmakers pass more blame than bills

Wait , bills passed does not mean `` good '' bills passed . This is true . And it is a key argument for Republicans especially .

`` It 's not how many bills you pass , '' Sen. Richard Shelby , R-Alabama , told CNN , `` It 's how many you stop . A lot of them are bad . ''

This is what we 're getting at here by bucking the `` do-nothing '' label . It does not capture the extent of the problem in Congress .

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How else can you measure the mess on Capitol Hill ?

By the hundreds of hours it took Congress to get so little done .

Days in session ? We could look at the days in session , which were officially more than 150 for both the House and Senate . That is average for the Senate and way above average for the House .

But those figures can be misleading : They include `` pro-forma '' sessions when the House and Senate are not really in Washington .

Instead , consider time in session

• Senate time in session : More than 1,098 hours .

• House time in session : More than 786 hours . .

• Relatively : That 's higher than average for the Senate over the past 30 years . And lower than average for the House .

Senate clears key nominations , leaves town for Christmas

And there were issues that both parties pledged to address , but left unresolved in that work time . To name a few :

• Jobs , long-term unemployment

• Immigration

• Energy policy

In other words , Congress spent hundreds of hours in Washington -- far more than average for the Senate -- and still was not able to address most of the biggest issues of the day .

`` It 's a lot of wasted time , '' Sen. Barbara Boxer , D-California , told CNN , her frustrated tone at odds with her bright holiday red sweater . '' Ridiculous ... It 's exhausting ... It 's been getting worse and worse every year . Exponentially . There are so many issues we could be dealing with , and we 're so discouraged . ''

This is perhaps the greatest area of bipartisan agreement : Congress is in Washington , but doing less .

`` I think we 've been working less , to be honest with you , '' Sen. John McCain , R-Arizona , said as he left the last Senate vote of the year .

When asked about the increased hours in the Senate , he was quick to respond , `` The number of hours doing nothing ? Yes , absolutely . ''

There is a pervasive sense of frustration mixed with no clear path toward a better , more able Congress .

`` I think a majority of the members are trying ... and hope that getting back to where the Congress does its job is just right around the next corner , '' said Sen. Roy Blunt , R-Missouri , who previously served as the Republican whip in the House . He lowered is voice . `` And we keep turning that corner and finding out we 're not there yet . And that 's frustrating . ''

It is a combination of doing relatively little , but taking an enormous amount of time doing it .

`` A lot of wasted time to me , '' Boxer repeated .

Obama says 2013 was n't his worst year

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Congress spent more time in office this year but got less done

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Some Republicans argue that it 's number of bad bills stopped that shows effectiveness

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`` It 's been getting worse and worse every year , '' veteran Democrat says

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Long-time Republican says , `` I think we 've been working less ''